1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to location-based services, and more particularly to selective map marker aggregation of query results of search engines, social networking sites, and other online services.
2. Related Art
Geographic mapping applications are particularly suitable for computer-based implementations because of the high volumes of data involved, and because interactive graphics display capabilities lend well to visual map navigation. Accordingly, a wide variety of electronic mapping applications have been developed. Earlier commercially available mapping applications were offered as standalone products installable on desktop computers, and included interface software that retrieved and displayed map data stored locally on the hard drive, or on an optical storage medium such as a CDs and DVDs. Although some specialized Global Positioning System (GPS) devices continue to store map data locally, web-based mapping applications are becoming increasingly popular.
In so-called web mapping services, geographic data is stored on a remote database and is retrieved by a web service application that is accessed from a client computer system via a conventional web browser. There are several advantages to web mapping, chief among these being substantially decreased storage requirements on the client side, as well as the lack of a need for the end user to regularly update map data through purchased content and the like. Some of the earlier web mapping services utilized raster image data, in which each zoom or detail level is represented as a series of separate images that was indexed according to a coordinate system. Accordingly, retrieving and rendering maps was a computationally burdensome process on both the client end and the server end that was further delayed on a limited bandwidth Internet connection. Conventional web mapping services utilize vector data that is downloaded to the client and rendered by browser-side scripts cooperating with the web service application. Additional graphical data may be overlaid or otherwise tied to specific coordinates, including satellite imagery, traffic level indicators, street-level perspective images, point of interest graphics, and so forth. Providers of web mapping services have also made available application programming interfaces (API) so that data from any other web-based service can be incorporated into maps.
Due to the proliferation of GPS receiver modules in many different mobile computing platforms including smartphones, tablet devices, laptop computers, and the like, user geographic location data has become more available. Several online, web-based social networking sites have attempted to harness location data for further interactivity and utility in maintaining online and offline interpersonal relationships.
Generally, social networking involves connecting users with each other to communicate and share information. Users may establish accounts and create profiles containing biographic data such as current location, schools attended, employment experiences, personal relationships, and so forth. Furthermore, various updates of interest with messages, photographs, videos, and links to other sites may be posted on the profile. Access to this personal information may be limited to those who have approved and set up links or affiliations with the user account. Depending on preference, information of limited privacy concern may be made accessible to secondary contact links, or to all users on the social networking service. A group of contacts, which can mirror the user's real-life personal network, may thus be established online.
When posting update content in messages, photographs, and videos, concurrently recorded location data may also be posted. The location data, in turn, may be utilized by a web mapping service to visually represent the location of each contact in the user's social network. Even though participation in social networking services through exchanging content can be enjoyable for its own sake, the capability to facilitate in-person, real-life interaction continues to be a significant draw and reason for its popularity, as offline contact often proves to be a richer, more rewarding experience.
Besides showing the location of users on social networking sites, the integration of location data from different sources into a web mapping service is applicable to other contexts. For instance, a common Internet search query relates to finding local businesses with physical facilities such as retailers, restaurants, and so forth. Markers overlaid on locations for businesses corresponding to the search results are helpful for quickly visualizing and deciding which (or in which order) they can be visited, among numerous other uses.
Visually presenting numerous location point data on a map may be challenging due to the limited space in which they may be shown. This problem is compounded where numerous query results are returned, and an attempt to render the location point data may result in a disorganized clutter. Furthermore, the maximum number of location point data that can be rendered on the map at any given point is also limited by the data processing resources of the client computer system. Some search engine implementations attempt to break up the results into multiple segments, with only the location point data for a given segment of results being rendered on the map at any time. Although this may decrease clutter on the map, a complete picture of the query cannot be visualized. The navigation of the query results becomes entirely divorced from the visual navigation of the map, with the map becoming a mere secondary indicator that complicates mental process of parsing search queries. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for selective map marker aggregation.